His for the Taking - By Ann Major Page 0,64

was six years old?”

“No.”

“She’s very insecure and has worked hard to keep those secrets. No doubt she worked just as hard to try to instill all sorts of extremely silly ideas and prejudices into her son. He got jealous and suffered a momentary lapse of judgment and hurt you, which I’m sure he profoundly regrets.”

“But—”

“I’m not finished. Unfortunately, at the party, you fell back into the old pattern of feeling left out. And you reacted defensively by lashing out at Cole. Self-worth comes from the inside, Maddie, and you have plenty of it…most of the time. But we all have our weak moments, and find ourselves filled with self-doubt. That’s all that happened. He got jealous at the wrong moment. You weren’t your best self either, and you took it out on each other. It was bad timing. Don’t throw away something as precious as the love of a lifetime without being sure it’s the right thing to do.”

“Oh, Miss Jennie, will he always see me as an easy, untrustworthy sort?”

“You won’t be the first woman ever to face the challenge of convincing a man how lucky he is to have you. Trust me, if he doesn’t know your true worth now, he will.”

* * *

Maddie stood in the open doorway of Miss Jennie’s house as she anxiously waited for Cole to drive up. After he cut the engine, she took a faltering step across the porch toward him, and then another. He got out of Adam’s truck and walked toward her just as slowly, as if he felt as unsure as she did.

“I…was waiting out here for you because Adam called me and told me you would come,” she said breathlessly. “I was so hoping you wouldn’t change your mind about coming…about me…about us.”

“Forgive me,” he whispered.

“I was every bit as much at fault as you.”

“No, I knew how important it was to you to make a good impression on everybody, and what did I do? I made you wear that sexy dress that you didn’t feel comfortable in.”

“Because I have hang-ups.”

“Because you’re you. I’m sorry for what I did. For what I said. I need to respect your feelings. Then that lout insulted you—I should have defended you instead of behaving like a perfect ass.”

“I should have been more understanding. But I’d been feeling sort of abandoned and isolated while you talked to Becky, so when you accused me…”

“You felt violated,” he said.

“I don’t want to rehash everything,” she whispered. “It was painful enough the first time around.”

“Yes. But there is one more thing. Lyle just called me on my cell, after drinking several cups of coffee, and apologized. He said he was out of line…about everything. He said you were the loveliest woman there in that sexy blue dress, and he was drunk and jealous of me. He said I was lucky you’d have me. He said he was going to call my mother and tell her it was high time she quit bad-mouthing you to everybody in town. He said he was going to call you and apologize.”

“That’s…that’s kind of nice.”

“I thought maybe you’d like it.”

She smiled. “Yes, but I see now that it’s what I think about myself that matters.”

“So, what about it—will you still have me?”

She caught her breath and pulled him close. “I love you so much, I’d be crazy not to. I overreacted, too. I was feeling scared at the party surrounded by all those people, imagining them thinking the worst of me. Maybe I was looking for an excuse not to face up to the past and simply let it go. So what if I had a lousy childhood? I’m a success now. You’re more important than the past. I love you too much to let you go so easily.”

“You sure scared the hell out of me.”

“I scared myself, too.”

He laughed. “I love you. I’ve always loved you. I was just too big an idiot to see it.”

“I love you more.”

“I guess we have the rest of our lives to argue about that.”

“You’re forgetting something,” she whispered.

“What?”

“My engagement ring. I want it back!”

He laughed. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled it out. She held up her hand, and he slid it on. Then his lips found hers, and she forgot about the ring, forgot about everything but how much she loved and wanted him.

He loved her, too. Imagine that.

He’d always loved her.

Epilogue

The ballroom where their glittering reception in Austin was held had sparkling views of Town Lake. Not too many people

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